Canadian-born Willard S. Boyle, two Americans share 2009 Nobel physics prize

[M.T. Al-Mansouri, Ph.D.]

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - By The Associated Press: A Canadian-born physicist and two Americans have been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics. Willard S. Boyle, who was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia and George E. Smith were honoured for inventing an imaging semiconductor circuit known as the CCD sensor - the eye of the digital camera found in everything from the cheapest point-and-shoot to high-speed, delicate surgical instruments. Charles K. Kao was cited for his breakthrough involving the transmission of light in fibre optics. The award's US$1.4 million purse will be split between the three with Kao taking half and Boyle and Smith each getting a fourth. The three also receive a diploma and an invitation to the prize ceremonies in Stockholm on Dec. 10. In its citation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Boyle and Smith "invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD. The CCD technology makes use of the photoelectric effect, as theorized by Albert Einstein and for which he was awarded the 1921 year's Nobel Prize." The two men, working at Bell Labs in New Jersey, designed an image sensor that could transform light into a large number of image points, or pixels, in a short time. "It revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film," the Academy said. Boyle, in a phone call to the academy, said he is reminded of his work with Smith "when I go around these days and see everybody using our little digital cameras, everywhere. Although they don't use exactly our CCD, it started it all." He added that the biggest achievement resulting from his work was when images of Mars were transmitted back to Earth using digital cameras. "We saw for the first time the surface of Mars," said Boyle, who also holds American citizenship. "It wouldn't have been possible without our invention." After receiving his doctorate from McGill University in Montreal, Boyle spent one year at Canada's Radiation Lab and two years teaching physics at the Royal Military College of Canada. In 1953 he joined Bell Labs where he invented the first continuously operating ruby laser with Don Nelson in 1962, and was named on the first patent for a semiconductor injection laser. He was made director of Space Science and Exploratory Studies at the Bell labs subsidiary Bellcomm in 1962, providing support for the Apollo space program and helping to select lunar landing sites. He returned to Bell Labs in 1964, working on the development of integrated circuits. Boyle retired in 1979, when he moved back to Nova Scotia and served on the research council of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research and the Science Council of the Province of Nova Scotia. Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press